Food: The most important thing is to have food and water available for your puppy at all times. Due to their small size, teacup and tiny toy poodle puppies must replenish their energy more frequently than larger puppies. They are very energetic little dogs and don’t have a lot of fat reserves. Teacup and tiny toy poodle puppies have very tiny stomachs and can’t eat very much in one sitting. They need to eat small meals more often to keep up their energy levels.
Also, do not change your puppy’s food for the first 2 weeks after he arrives at his new home. Your puppy needs time to adjust to his new surroundings before you make the change or the extra stress could upset his little tummy. Then, make the change gradually by slowly adding more of the new food to his old food each day, until you have switched over totally to the new food.
Hypoglycaemia: Hypoglycaemia is a condition where the blood sugar level drops to an extremely low level, usually due to lack of food or using up all stored energy without it being replenished. Teacup poodle puppies are very small dogs with very little fat. Fat helps keep them warm and it is where extra energy is stored.
Hypoglycaemia can occur without warning to a healthy puppy. When your puppy arrives in his new home, he may become stressed and may not want to eat. He may become chilled or otherwise stressed by a traumatic even such as a long drive or plane flight. If your puppy shows signs of Hypoglycaemia (convulsions, weakness, head tilting, shivering, disorientation, wobbling when walking) you need to act quickly. Immediately offer your puppy some food. If he won’t eat, rub his gums and the inside of his cheek with glucose syrup, honey or nutrical if you have it.
Leaving home: Remember that this is a very traumatic time for your new teacup puppy. He has been taken away from his mother and siblings and brought to a new house with strangers. So it is very important that you try to make the first two weeks with your new puppy as calm and happy an experience as possible.
It is an important time for your puppy to bond with you and your family and to get used to his new environment. Please resist the temptation to take your new puppy to visit family and friendsd during this period and keep handling by children to a minimum.
Supervision: Always make sure that you have a firm grip on your puppy at all times when it is off the ground. Many fatalities or injuries have been caused by a tiny dog wriggling out of an owners grasp or jumping off a lap, couch or bed and breaking their neck, legs or landing on their head.
Grooming: It is very important that your poodle is professionally groomed every 8 weeks. Because poodles don’t shed, their undercoats will mat very quickly if left ungroomed. Weekly brushing will remove the dead undercoat and keep tangles to a minimum.
Poodle’s ears need to be cleaned out by plucking the little fine hairs inside the ears. Your groomer will do this for you.
Teething: A puppy must be allowed to chew as much as they wish, when they are teething. This is a very difficult time for a Poodle puppy, as the urge to relive their discomfort is quite overwhelming. It will be your job to supply the correct items. Toys should have 1 or more of the qualities:
• Interactive – Moves or makes noise when chewed.
• Have several different types of surfaces – for example rubber knobs on one end to put between teeth when the gums are sore and rope for a different feel.
•Can be put into the freezer – There are many dog toys that can be frozen and this can be a great way to help a teething puppy. Alternatively, putting a damp, soft wash cloth into the freezer and offering that, once cold, can offer cooling relief.
When Does a Poodle Begin and End Teething?
• 4 Months old – the incisors begin to grow in
• 5 months old – the canine teeth begin to grow in
• 6 months old – the molars begin to grow in
By 8 months old, a puppy should have all teeth ascended and stop teething. Do keep in mind that some Poodles are late bloomers and teething may last a bit longer. Sometimes, with the tiny dogs, some or all of their baby teeth are retained and will need to be removed, surgically by your vet.
Toilet training: All our puppies are toilet trained to ‘piddle pads’ from the time they venture out of the whelping box and start walking around. Keep the piddle pad in the same place in your house. If you move it, your puppy may become confused and keep going in the same area where the piddle pad was before. Remember, teacup and tiny toy poodle puppies have tiny bladders and can’t hold their bladder for long periods of time. A 12 week old puppy can hold its bladder for about 4 hours.
It is important to let your new puppy follow you outside to go to the toilet. It is too easy just to pick him up and carry him outside but he must learn to go outside on his own. If you keep picking him up and taking him outside, he will not learn to go out on his own. This is the major mistake that owners of new puppies make when it comes to toilet training. Do not hit your puppy for making a mistake, but praise him when he behaves correctly. Poodles respond best to positive encouragement.
Toys: Give your puppy plenty of small chew toys. Poodles also love balls and soft squeaky toys. Giving your puppy toys will help him stay busy and not look for non-toys, like shoes, to play with.
Never punish a puppy for chewing, just be sure to provide the appropriate objects. Puppies need to chew to stimulate the loss of their baby teeth and to help place their permanent teeth.